WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Jake Cage made his first Northwoods League outing a distant memory Thursday night.

In a relief appearance last Sunday against Thunder Bay, Cage gave up a home run to the first batter he faced.

On Thursday, the right-handed junior from Azusa Pacific University made his first start for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and pitched a gem.

Cage, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds, struck out four batters, walked one and scattered three hits in six innings of work to lead the Rafters to a 3-1 victory over the Madison Mallards in front of 1,402 fans at Witter Field.

The Rafters took the three-game homestand 2-1 against their South Division rival as they embark on a seven-game road trip over the next eight days. After a three-game series at Warner Park in Madison, the team has Monday off before playing two-game sets at Lakeshore and Kenosha. The Rafters return to Witter Field on July 19, when they host the Wisconsin Woodchucks.

Against the Mallards, Cage faced just 10 batters in the first three innings.

"I felt good coming out of the bullpen today, and locating my fastball in the first three innings was the biggest part," Cage said. "I'm not a strikeout guy, but I got a few, which is nice."

The Rafters gave Cage a 3-0 lead on Keelin Rasch's three-run blast over the right field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning. That was all the run support Cage would need.

"Keelin is hitting crazy good right now," Cage said. "It's like he knows what pitch is coming."

Rasch tagged a 1-0 pitch that left no doubt it was out of the park. The home run was his fourth of the season and third in as many days.

"It looks like the ball is coming in slow motion right now," Rasch said. "I was just trying to get a (sacrifice fly) and I got a hold of it."

Even with the early lead, it might have been even more, as the Rafters had two baserunners caught on the base paths for outs, once in the first and the other in the third.

When Cage left after the sixth, Blake Drabik threw for the next 11/3 innings, allowing the only run for Madison. Jason Freeman finished the game to earn his first save of the season.

"Jake did a great job tonight throwing strikes and we made plays behind him," Rasch said.